Sweet Dreams
by Katalina Tomlin
Summary: "Mother told me monsters eat little girls. Do you eat little girls, Mister?" The tale of a sad little girl who makes a promise with a monster.


**WARNING: This story might contain content that could potentially trigger some people as it deals with depressing themes and suicide! So, please, read at your own risk!**

 _Hey guys! Originally, I had planned to update this yesterday but I was remastering the first story from my collection of Soul Eater one-shots at the same time which somehow turned out to be twice as long as the original version. So naturally it took some time for me to finish it._

 _Anyway, this little tale thankfully didn't need much remastering, just a few changes here and there. I really hope you enjoy! If you find any mistakes or just want to tell me what you think about it, please don't hesitate to do so. :)_

 _Disclaimer: Slender, the game, and Slenderman, the character, belong to their respective owner(s)._

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Sweet Dreams

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Mother never loved me.

Father never told me "good night".

Brother never held my hand.

Sister never played with me.

I was the smallest child. Always sick. Always forgotten.

But I always tried to be a very good girl.

Most of the time, I played in my room with my dolls. Mother said I wasn't allowed to go outside because I was sick. She got very angry with me whenever I left my room. Mother always got very angry with me, even though I tried to be a good girl.

Sometimes I left my room to go play in the forest behind our little house. Mother was always very upset. She said, monsters live in the forest who eat bad little girls like me. I was sent to bed without dinner that night. After that, I tried even harder to be a good girl. I never left my room again. Brother and Sister never visited me. I was very lonely.

One day, Father left for work but never came back. I spent my time looking out the window, waiting for him. But Father never returned. I asked Mother where he went. For the first time, Mother was not angry. She was very sad and cried. She said, Father went to a better place. And then she hugged me, for the first time in a long time.

The next day, Sister helped me dress into a black dress and Brother held my hand. I watched as big men in black clothes buried a black box in the ground. Mother cried again. I did not understand why. If Father went to a better place, why was Mother sad?

I missed Father but I was not sad. I imagined the place he went to as a magical place where all wishes come true. Where sweets grow on trees and where animals can speak. I wanted to visit him and see the magical place for myself. When I told Mother, she did not get angry like usual. She cried and hugged me and told me that I was a good girl.

That was the last time Mother ever spoke again. All she did from then on was sit in her rocking chair on the porch, staring into the distance and waiting for Father to come home from work. But why did Mother never speak to me anymore? Was it something I did? I didn't mean to make Mother sad. I wanted to be a good girl.

Brother soon had to go to work and Sister went to the market every day to sell the pretty flowers from our backyard, so we could have food. I was alone most of the time. Soon, I was very lonely again. My dolls were not enough to comfort me and I got very bored. One day, I left my room to go play in the forest. I was very scared of the monsters living there, so I stayed close to the house. But then I saw the most beautiful butterfly and I tried to catch it to show it to Mother. Maybe it would help her to smile again.

It got dark very quickly. I ran too deep into the forest and could not find the way back home, so I sat down on the stump of a tree. I was very scared and wished for someone to find me. It was a very cold night and I could hear the monsters of the forest. I cried softly and thought about Father. For the first time, I was sad that he went to the magical place without me.

Suddenly, I saw him. He stood near a group of trees and looked at me. He was a very tall and slender man in black clothes. He had no hair and no face. But I was not scared when he came closer.

"Why are you crying, little girl?", he asked with no mouth. His voice was very deep and it reminded me of Father's voice.

My head started to tickle as he approached. There was a noise in the back of my head that made it hard to hear or see anything. "Because I'm lost", I said quietly. "I played in the forest but now I can't find the way back home."

"Don't you know there are monsters in the forest?" The man cocked his head to the side a little.

I nodded, "Mother told me monsters eat little girls. Do you eat little girls, Mister?"

The man laughed a little. "It depends. Are you a bad little girl?"

I shook my head. "I always try to be a good little girl."

"Very well", the man said. "Then I won't eat you. Do you want me to show you the way back home, little girl?"

I nodded and took the man's white, big hand. It was warm and it felt very nice. I wished that Father had held my hand like this. As the man led me through the dark forest, I wondered about one thing. I looked up at the man's blank, white face. "Do you know where the magical place is that Father went to, Mister?"

The man looked down at me. "Yes, in fact, I know where it is."

"Can you take me there, Mister?", I asked. "I want to see Father again."

The man shook his head. "No, I cannot take you there. It is a place forbidden for monsters like me. But someday, you will find it on your own, I'm sure of it."

I was silent for a moment, then I smiled at the man. "Don't worry, Mister. I will take you there once I find it. It's a Pinky Promise." I lifted my pinky to him.

The shadows on the man's blank face formed what seemed to be a big, scary smile as he hooked his pinky into mine. "I will remind you of it, little girl. A promise is a promise. Never forget that."

Then the noise in the back of my head got so loud that I couldn't hear or see anything anymore. I fell asleep right where I was. The next time I opened my eyes, I lay on the porch of our little house. Brother and Sister found me there and quickly took me inside. They were very worried and wrapped me in blankets and gave me soup. Mother never even looked up from her rocking chair.

I only went into the forest once more but I never saw the man ever again. When I told Brother and Sister about him, they told me that I had just a dream and should not worry about it. I believed them because Brother and Sister were very smart. Soon after, Mother got very sick, so I had to watch her when Brother and Sister were out. I quickly forgot about the man and the promise we made.

I cooked and cleaned the house and did all the chores that Mother could not do anymore. She only smiled at me from the bed she was tied to. I read and told all kinds of stories to Mother but all she ever did was look at me and smile a little. She did not hear what I said to her, I quickly understood. But I kept on telling her all kinds of stories, so she would smile at me.

A few years later, Mother fell asleep. I sat at her bedside, waiting for her to wake up, because it was story time. But Mother never opened her eyes again. Brother and Sister told me that Mother went to the same place Father had gone to. I was sad a little but I was also happy that she could finally see the magical place for herself.

Soon after that, Sister got married to a rich man from the city and left us. She wrote us letters and sent us money but she quickly forgot about us and we did not get any letters from her anymore. Brother grew very quiet. I almost never saw him because he was always at work. I tried my best to keep the house tidy but Brother stopped smiling at me. I wondered if I did something wrong. I wanted to be a good girl.

One day, Brother sat me down and told me that I was old enough to live on my own. He wanted to get married to a girl and go live with her. I told him I was happy for him but in reality, I was very sad when I watched him pack his things and leave the house. From then on, I was all alone.

I was very lonely and very sad. Even though Brother and Sister both promised to visit me daily, they never did. Soon, I got sick and was forgotten once again. I stopped cleaning the house because there was no one there to smile at me. I spent my time in my room, looking out the window into the forest. At night, I could hear Father and Mother talking to me. Mother told me that I was a good girl and Father said that he was waiting for me in the magical place.

One night, I woke up thirsty. I went into the bathroom to drink water. As I stared into the old and dusty mirror with the long crack right down the middle, I could see Mother and Father standing behind me. They were smiling at me.

"Why are you taking so long?", Mother asked.

"We are waiting for you, my dear", Father said. "Come to us, quickly."

"I don't know how", I said.

"It's easy", Mother whispered into my ear and stroked my hair. "Just take Father's old razor. It only hurts a little."

My eyes wandered to the razor blade that I had kept polishing, even though Father was long since gone. It was cold against my skin when I took it into my hand. I looked back at Mother's reflection. She was still smiling at me. "I want to see you again", I said. "But I'm afraid of the pain."

Suddenly, something seemed wrong. Mother's eyes were as black as coal and her mouth was too big with teeth that were too sharp. I hesitated, razor blade still in hand. Mother was gone, wasn't she? I saw with my own eyes how she had been buried in the ground. She could not possibly be in the mirror now. Was I dreaming?

"Do it!", Mother screeched in a voice that hurt my ears.

I got very scared and realized that that was not my Mother and not my Father in the mirror. I turned and ran. I heard the monsters scream at me but I did not stop. I ran as quickly as my legs could carry me, out into the dark forest.

Darkness embraced me. I could not see anything but I was not scared anymore. I looked at the razor blade. It felt heavy but I clasped it tightly in my hand. I was scared to be alone but I was also scared of the pain. I sat down on the stump of a tree, and softly cried.

"Why are you crying, little girl?", a deep voice asked out of nowhere.

A familiar sensation spread through my head. I looked up and there he was. The man I had seen as a child. So he was not a dream. Or perhaps I had just gone crazy? "Because I'm lost", I said quietly. "I don't want to be alone but I can't find the place Father and Mother went to. I'm afraid I can't keep my promise."

"I told you before that I cannot take you there", the man said. "But I can take away your fear, so you might find it yourself."

"You can?" I looked at him, full of hope. I wished for nothing more than for the fear to disappear. I did not want to be scared anymore. I was sick of it. "Please. Please take away my fear."

"Very well", the man said and the shadows on his blank face formed a creepy, little smile. "Close your eyes, little girl."

I closed my eyes and the sensation in the back of my head grew stronger. It felt like something was pushing against my head from the inside. It was very loud. But I felt the fear leave my body. I was not scared anymore. Of anything. I did not fear the loneliness nor the pain. When I opened my eyes again, the man was still there but I could barely see him. The noise in the back of my head made it hard to see or hear anything.

I pressed the razor blade against my arm and I smiled as a thick liquid poured out. I felt safe and warm for the first time in what felt like an eternity. The man stayed by my side as I lay on the cold forest ground.

"Thank you", I whispered.

"Sweet dreams, little girl", the man whispered back with a scary voice. I was too tired to care anymore.

I did not know how much time had passed but when I looked up the next time, there was a blinding light in the far distance. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my short life. I could see Father and Mother. They smiled at me and waved for me to come.

My body felt very light as I stepped closer. I could almost feel Mother's warm arms wrapped around me and Father's hand in mine. With the slightest smile, I reached out for them, only to be pulled back roughly. The light wavered in front of me as dark shadows clouded my vision. I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I looked down. The man with the blank face had ripped out my heart.

"You kept your promise after all", he whispered and giggled quietly. "Thank you for taking me here, foolish little girl. You should have never trusted a monster like me."

The man turned around and went into the light. I heard Father and Mother scream as I fell to the ground. The light vanished and darkness embraced me. I knew I was supposed to feel scared now but I only smiled. I could not feel any fear while I quietly closed my eyes. For the very last time.

In the end, I should have never made a promise with a monster...


End file.
